Are OTA bookers getting a better deal than everyone else?

As we promised last week, we’re going to tackle the last big piece of our OTA analysis. First, we looked at lead time, then added length of stay into the mix, and today we’re taking a closer look at rate. So, are OTA bookers getting a better deal than everyone else who travels to resorts? Here’s what we found.

The Goods
To find our answer we used the same sample as our last two analyses but, as you guessed, simply added rate into our data set. Again we decided to approach this from two angles.

The first angle is lead time. In other words, of all people booking 45 days in advance what is the average rate that OTA bookers are paying versus the non-OTA group? Here’s how it looks.

But we also wanted to look at people that were booking similar vacations by crossing ADR vs LOS. In other words, of all people booking a 3 night stay, which group is paying a lower daily rate? Here’s how it looks.

Compared to those who booked the same number of days in advance, OTA bookers saved about 14%. Compared to those staying the same number of nights, OTA bookers saved about 20%.

What This Means
In a sentence, those booking through OTAs tend to pay less, wait longer to book, and stay fewer nights. When you looking at our own behavior on OTAs, this may come as no surprise.

But what we hope will become a talking point is how big these differences are for resorts and leisure-focused destinations. They certainly have their place as a marketing channel, but overloading your books with these behaviors is certainly something to be wary of.

More, More, More
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